Iria moved at a slow pace.

 

Though the academy’s surroundings resembled a hellish nightmare, it didn’t feel that way to her.

 

The monsters ignored Iria entirely. She strolled through the academy’s corridors with the same leisurely steps as always.

 

By the time she reached the interior, the building was shrouded in a black barrier, making it impossible to enter or exit.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Realizing she couldn’t enter normally, Iria clenched her fist.

 

Most would have turned back or devised a plan to breach the barrier, but Iria was different.

 

With a determined strike, she hit the barrier with her fist, and a resounding crash echoed as a large hole formed.

 

If your body is strong, your mind doesn’t have to suffer.

 

Iria stepped through the opening and entered the building.

 

***

 

A woman with a human-like appearance stood in Rena’s way, but instinctively, Rena could sense that she wasn’t human.

 

With a pair of horns protruding from her forehead, sharp fangs, and an aura of thick magical energy radiating around her, the demon flashed an evil smile as she readjusted her grip on her sword. Surrounding her lay the fallen bodies of humans; students and even professors.

 

“S-Stand back…”

 

Rena spoke with a tense voice, glancing behind her.

 

Even if they combined their strength, this was not an opponent they could hope to defeat. The demon before them had dispatched the academy’s professors effortlessly, without so much as a scratch.

 

The elite combat personnel of the Empire’s top educational institution, the academy, had fallen. This was not an opponent students could hope to handle.

 

If victory was impossible, retreat was the best strategy. Rena swallowed hard and began to take slow steps back.

 

The other students also sensed the impending danger and started to back away cautiously, preparing to escape if necessary. However, they couldn’t retreat beyond a certain point.

 

“Wait.”

 

The demon’s low voice cut through the air, accompanied by an overwhelming killing intent that paralyzed the nerves of everyone present.

 

It was the effect of the magical energy unleashed by Seir, an executive of the Demon King’s army. The heavy magical aura settled around the humans, binding their feet and constricting their throats.

 

In the dark corridor, Seir’s red eyes gleamed with malevolence.

 

The principle behind her power was simpler than expected—just a threat. She had merely released a fraction of her magical energy and glared at them menacingly.

 

Even that small gesture was enough to paralyze Rena and the other students; they couldn’t move from their spots. The disparity in power was so vast that it felt like they were caught in an inescapable web. Seir was on a level they couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

 

“If you take one more step back from there, I’ll kill you all.”

 

Her words were not an empty bluff.

 

The words carried weight because Seir was an existence that could actually follow through.

 

She laughed at the sight of the students frozen in terror, a bloody grin reminiscent of a murderer who had taken hundreds of lives.

 

As she counted the terrified students one by one with her fingers, she slowly advanced towards them.

 

“Seven in total. If I add them to the number of humans I’ve killed today, that makes twenty… I should be able to reach a hundred before I head back.”

 

The students were gripped by even greater fear at the chilling contrast between her leisurely tone and the horrific content of her words.

 

“You never intended to let us live from the start!!”

 

“W-Wait a moment!”

 

One of the students behind Rena, driven to his breaking point by fear, rushed forward with his sword drawn. Having lost his mind in desperation, he lunged at Seir.

 

Rena reached out to grab him, but it was too late.

 

The male student swung his sword at Seir.

 

And then-

 

-Splash!

 

His body was sliced into pieces, reduced to a gruesome display of minced flesh. It happened in the blink of an eye, red blood splattering across the corridor.

 

“Kyaaahhhh!!”

 

The scream pierced the air, a cry from someone among the remaining six, but it was impossible to tell who.

 

Seir, the very one who had swung the sword, was unfazed. As she cleaned the blood from her weapon, she took another step closer.

 

“Seriously, why are you all so weak? This is why an inferior species like you will never amount to anything.”

 

“……”

 

Despair was etched on the faces of the remaining six.

 

Originally, despair feels more tangible when you dangle over the abyss with hope just within reach. If they could just get past that demon, the exit was right before them—the last chance they had while fighting through the chaos.

 

But an insurmountable wall stood in their way, discouraging the students at the final hurdle. It was a barrier they could not overcome.

 

Rena shut her eyes tightly, preparing for the inevitable. At that moment, Seir seized her by the neck.

 

“Kuh-aack!”

 

A tremendous force constricted her throat, rendering any attempt at resistance futile. The overwhelming difference in strength was crushing, leaving Rena gasping for air as she struggled against the grip of her captor.

 

If Seir applied just a bit more pressure, she could snap Rena’s neck right then and there. To Seir, the six remaining students were nothing more than toys she could dispose of at her leisure.

 

Her gaze swept over the terrified faces until it landed on Rena, an expression of mild intrigue flickering across her features.

 

“You have quite the aptitude, don’t you? How did you survive this long? That constitution of yours would drive monsters wild.”

 

“Uu, uugh…”

 

“Come on, show me what you can do. With a body like that and having made it this far, you must have something special, right?”

 

Seir tightened her grip, shaking Rena slightly as if to rattle out some hidden potential. Even in Seir’s eyes, Rena’s talent was evident, making it feel almost wasteful to kill her without extracting a bit more entertainment first.

 

Rena clutched Seir’s arm, her face contorted in pain as she struggled to breathe. It felt as if she was on the brink of death. In a desperate bid for survival, she began to channel the mana that had grown significantly during her training with Iria.

 

Unintentionally, she unleashed it through an incantation.

 

Seir watched with a mix of curiosity and amusement as Rena’s mana ignited, transforming into brilliant golden flames.

 

-Whoosh!

 

The fire enveloped Rena’s body, radiating heat. By releasing the mana beforehand, she had raised the temperature to an intense level. Remarkably, there wasn’t a single burn on Rena; when deploying magic, the caster inherently gains a high resistance to their own spells.

 

But Seir was different. Overwhelmed by the sudden surge in firepower, she was forced to release her grip on Rena’s neck.

 

“Cough, cough!” Rena gasped, desperate for air as she staggered back, flames flickering around her.

 

“Hoh~”

 

‘So this human had cleaned up the low-level monsters in the surroundings.’

 

As Rena struggled to regain her composure, Seir watched with an amused expression. She casually regenerated her burned arm, the flames flickering away as if they had never been there.

 

“You, fight me. I was just getting bored,” Seir said, her voice laced with a hint of challenge.

 

“……”

 

Rena hesitated, uncertainty swirling in her mind.

 

“If you can land even a small scratch on me, I’ll let the rest of the humans go. How about it?”

 

The offer hung in the air, heavy with implications.

 

Seir truly intended to let them go, but not out of mercy. It was more of a game for her, a way to pass the time. She knew the outside world held no safety for them; the Seeds of the Demon King swarmed beyond the building, and those who fled would likely face even greater peril.

 

Rena swallowed hard, weighing her options.

 

“……”

 

Of course, Rena, who had no way of knowing that fact, thought while lying on the ground.

 

The opponent was a monster that even the academy’s professors couldn’t match. It was natural to feel scared. In the face of death looming right before her, Rena trembled.

 

But she didn’t despair.

 

Instead, she considered what Iria would have done in this situation.

 

What would that brave and resilient girl—so different from herself—have done?

 

She probably would have fought, regardless of who the opponent was.

 

“……Blaze.”

 

With that thought, Rena ignited the flames even larger, summoning the enormous fire she had previously displayed during a spar with Wendy.

 

She hadn’t expected to end up using this indoors, though.

 

The firepower was similar to before, but she didn’t suffer major injuries this time. She had grown too.

 

The total amount of mana she possessed and her ability to control the flames had increased.

 

Now, she stood before the demon, huge flames swirling around her body.

 

Seir laughed.

 

“Yes, that’s how it should be.”

 

The students behind Rena ran away.

 

Seir didn’t bother to stop them, as all her attention was focused solely on Rena.

 

Without hesitation, Rena detonated the flames.

 

The rest of the students escaped safely, leaving Rena to hold back the demon’s advance.

 

The flames illuminated the dark corridor, high-powered flames that would have instantly turned ordinary monsters to ash.

 

But Seir charged at Rena, cutting through the flames effortlessly. No matter how strong the flames were, they were meaningless if they didn’t land a hit.

 

Demons generally possess reflexes superior to those of humans, allowing Seir to dodge Rena’s flames with flexible movements or cut right through them. In no time, she closed the distance between them.

 

“Is that all you’ve got?” Seir taunted as she swung her sword at Rena.

 

The blade tore through Rena’s skin, blood gushing from the shallow wounds inflicted intentionally to torment her.

 

“Uwaah!” Rena groaned, the pain overwhelming her. It was too great for her to endure, especially given her lack of real combat experience.

 

The merciless Seir continued to slice at Rena’s skin. Though flames occasionally exploded outward, they were still insufficient to leave a mark on Seir’s body.

 

The battle concluded much sooner than Rena had anticipated. Before she could deploy her next spell, Seir pressed her blade against Rena’s neck.

 

“Ack, urk.”

 

“Well, it was way too lacking for me, but it was fun,” Seir said, her voice dripping with mockery.

 

She had taken an interest in Rena because of her talent, but that was the extent of it. What she had initially hoped would be a brief amusement quickly proved that the human race was, as expected, incomparably weak.

 

Seir raised her sword, preparing to deliver the final blow.

 

“Farewell.”

 

And at that moment, she swung her sword.

 

-Clang!!!

 

The sharp sound of metal clashing reverberated through the corridor as Seir’s sword was blocked by an unexpected force.

 

“Urk?!”

 

Not only Rena but even Seir was taken aback by the instantaneous nature of the event. The heavy impact traveled through Seir’s fingertips, forcing her to step back.

 

A figure stood before Rena, her silver hair swaying dramatically against the dark backdrop.

 

But that wasn’t all.

 

Cold, piercing red eyes glared at Seir with an intensity that sent a shiver down her spine.

 

The woman gripping a single dagger seemed to emanate an aura that made Seir tremble, a primal fear deeply ingrained in her being.

 

From this girl, she could faintly sense the essence of the Demon King.

 

If you’re strong enough, you can literally just punch a solution.*